Once a niche industry, videogames have transformed into a multi-billion-pound ubiquitous sector of contemporary culture’s mass media with a diverse audience, upon which it has a powerful influence. However, research has established that a pervasive ideology of hegemonic masculinity exists within the industry, its culture, and its associated partner agencies including advertising and journalism, enabling the audience and cultural identity of gaming to be defined as male, and thus excluding and demeaning female players. Several recent events have highlighted this ingrained philosophy and its effect, entering the discourse of popular culture, mainstream media, and academic scholarship, most notably, the Gamergate controversy.
Gamergate was an …show more content…
He found that women were generally excluded in the media’s portrayal of videogames, directly connecting this absence to the construction of technology as male, and the continuing power and dominance of men within the sector, in which the media played a vital role (Williams, 2003). Similarly, Ivory found in his study of digital game reviews that the gaming audience was consistently portrayed as male, with female characters underrepresented and sexualised (Ivory, 2006). Fisher’s analysis in 2012 of digital and print gaming publications drew parallel conclusions, finding that female characters were ignored or hypersexualised. Moreover, he found specifically that journalists were derogatory to female players, considering them irrelevant, thus categorising male gamers as the real audience and excluding females from the gaming community (Fisher, 2015). Equally, Cote’s study of Nintendo Power magazine from 1994-1999, also evidenced a male audience focus while females were disregarded or sexualised. She concluded a lack of female representation in videogame content directly affected their ability to identify as gamers, and that videogame journalism needed to become more representative to prevent the gaming audience continuing to be defined as male (Cote, 2015). Most recently, Kirkpatrick’s investigation of three gaming magazines from 1981-1995, showed the sector was central to the formation of the male gamer identity with a biased discourse that consistently framed gaming as exclusively male (Kirkpatrick,
Gamergate was an …show more content…
He found that women were generally excluded in the media’s portrayal of videogames, directly connecting this absence to the construction of technology as male, and the continuing power and dominance of men within the sector, in which the media played a vital role (Williams, 2003). Similarly, Ivory found in his study of digital game reviews that the gaming audience was consistently portrayed as male, with female characters underrepresented and sexualised (Ivory, 2006). Fisher’s analysis in 2012 of digital and print gaming publications drew parallel conclusions, finding that female characters were ignored or hypersexualised. Moreover, he found specifically that journalists were derogatory to female players, considering them irrelevant, thus categorising male gamers as the real audience and excluding females from the gaming community (Fisher, 2015). Equally, Cote’s study of Nintendo Power magazine from 1994-1999, also evidenced a male audience focus while females were disregarded or sexualised. She concluded a lack of female representation in videogame content directly affected their ability to identify as gamers, and that videogame journalism needed to become more representative to prevent the gaming audience continuing to be defined as male (Cote, 2015). Most recently, Kirkpatrick’s investigation of three gaming magazines from 1981-1995, showed the sector was central to the formation of the male gamer identity with a biased discourse that consistently framed gaming as exclusively male (Kirkpatrick,